8 WWE Wrestlers Vince McMahon Refused To Turn Heel

Before there was Roman Reigns, there was of course John Cena.

Picking up the mantle from The Rock and 'Stone Cold' Steve Austin, Cena went on to become the front 'n' centre poster boy of WWE for over a decade. After his early Doctor of Thuganomics heel persona was that entertaining it began to get him cheered, Super Cena went on to become the babyface who WWE structured so much of their programming around.

The only reason that Cena isn't still in that same spot right now, is largely down to Big Match John's decision to try his hand in Hollywood as he looks to wind down his in-ring career. But throughout all of the 'let's go Cena, Cena sucks' years of John Cena at the top of the card as the all-conquering hero, there was one moment in time where WWE was finally going to allow Cena to turn heel.

We didn't know it at the time, but recent years have seen it confirmed by numerous wrestling personalities - including Cena himself - that plans were afoot to have Cena embrace the hate in 2011 as part of his rivalry with The Rock.

Rather than merely a loose idea that had been tossed around, these plans got to the point where Cena had new gear made, new entrance music was on the horizon, and a 'fear my name' slogan was being bandied about for this new iteration of John Cena.

That is, until Vince McMahon changed his mind after seeing a report on the huge merchandise numbers that Cena was still doing.

In the years since, despite suitable top babyface replacements in the likes of CM Punk, Daniel Bryan, and, yes, Roman Reigns, WWE still opted to never flip the switch and give Cena a heel-ish lick of paint.